Boys & Girls Learn Differently!  A Guide for Teachers & Parents

(Notes from book by the same name by Gurian, M. & Henley, P.  2001.  San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass Publishers)

Advantages for Girls, Disadvantages for Boys

*Extracurricular Activities

    - girls are the majority of student government officials, after-school club leaders, school liaisons

*Academic Performance

    - in middle school and high school, girls more often choose to take harder courses at a higher rate than boys

    - girls = 60% of A's

    - boys = 70% of D's and F's

    - among student performing at top 5%, 63% are girls

*Educational Aspirations

    - colleges are now 60% female

    - on average, 8th and 12th grade girls have higher educational aspirations

*Learning and Behavioral Disorders

    - boys make up 2/3 of the learning disabled and 90% of behaviorally disabled

    - girls make up 20% of ADHD and ADD cases

    - girls make up 30% of serious drug and alcohol problems

    - for every girl who actually commits suicide, 4 boys do so

*Discipline Problems

    - boys are 90%of the discipline problems in schools

    - boys make up 80% of dropouts

*Violence

    - boys are victims of school violence three out of four times

*Cultural Bias

    - school system is better designed for female brain development

Advantages for Boys, Disadvantages for Girls

*Athletics

    - majority of funding still goes to males

    - 37%of high school athletes are female

*Classroom Behavior

    - boys are louder, more prone to attention getting, hence more teacher attention

*Specific Academic Areas

    - boys are approximately 2-4 points ahead of girls in math and science scores tracked by the U.S. Dept. of Education

*Test Scores

    - boys score slightly higher than girls on SAT and other college entrance exams

*Psychological Disorders

    - boys are somewhat isolated from some girl-related disorders (e.g. eating disorders)

    - girls are the majority of cases of depression

    - four girls attempt suicide to every boy

*Teen Pregnancy

    - of those involved, the girl is most likely to drop out of school

    - 90% of teen fathers involved abandon the girl and child

*Sexual Abuse

    - girls are more commonly victims by teachers, coaches, parents, students and other staff

*Cultural Gender Bias

    - Good Old Boy network still exists and privileges boys